Art of shipbuilding



June R F SM1-TH ART OF SHIPBUILDING` Filed Oct. 23; 1941 6 Sheets-Sheet l AJune 26, 1945. R, F, SMH-H 2,379,259

ART OF SHIPBUILDING Filed Oct 23, 1.941 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 @NN mmommnsw Zooazo June 26, 1945.

R. F. SMITH ART 0E SHIPBUILDING Filed Oct. 23, 1941 6 SheeLS-Shee 4 hner/16,1945.- 9 RF. SMITH y 2,379,259

' ART oF S'HIPBUILDING v l Filed 061;. 25, 1941 @sheets-sheet 5 i; ri?? Y aufm/mu Filed out. 23, l1941 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Patented June 26, 1945 UNI EIEED FICEN .'o'F .sniPBUILDING Ric'har'diF. Smith, Savannah, Ga.

Application-'october 23, 1941*, serial-N0. 416,249

3 Claims. (01.114-79) y i...

This 'invention fis 'directed ito basic improvements in Ithe 'art "of shipbuilding, fand `lparticuiarly to a inovel canal or Amarine :system `for building vships 'and' lto :a method 'of 'constructing welded type 'ships with the `aid 'of ithat system.

The `problems `o'zf cship 'construction diierso widely from those relating/'to =the1production in large quantity of smallfland vehicles, yor fairila'nes, v'that it 'has previously ibeen considered wholly :impractical lto fadapt lto 'marine Work the Instcadit is proposed to use fa canal Ato carry a fserie's of hulls 'from station fto tstation falong its sideswh'e're construction is progressively-iaccomplished 'with 'a minimum loi confusion. Initially, 'the hull inner fbottoms `are fifabricated on a set'of pion'toon's 'which are advanced along Vthe sides 'of 'a :loop portion `Tof Athe canal until each becomes independently iioatable, at which Etime the' 'respective pontoons are removed rby partial sinking and then returned to the starting point of the operations 'II-'he floating :inner bottoms are ine'xt connected :together -so that vvthey maybe intermittently 'advanced in unison 1to successive jstationsv -immediately `adiacent on 'either ior both :sides lof' an extended :portion -of th'ecanal. Finally, thefcompleted'ships are-dis charged vserially vfrom the :canal into 'open Water for commencement -of luseful service.

:important lobject of this linvention Ais .to provide fa :method `of ship Yconstructioi-i .which will V.avoid the .unpredictable and abnormal strains incident to laying -a ship on Ways, by giving 'fluid support 4to the underwater surface of vthe hull yas soon as it is completed.

Aiurthers'ignicarit object resides in the provision of an improved method vof 'welded hull welding, `with va corresponding reduction in slower more :laborious fs'ide welding.- Thi's improved method vis characterized by the use yof :spacer bars fon fthe 'upper surface Aof Ithe foon- 150 assembly which increases the amount `-of down struction pontoons to align the `bottom shell plates and longitudinals Ifor interior Welding and vleave a continuous groove jfor automatic 'exterior Welding together of these fstructural members. The availability Iof `the hull Ibottom for 'the flatter `Welding operation -is lattained by sealing -it and turning-it bottom side -up after removal :of the pontoon. 1 Q

While the principal purposes Aand 4features of the invention have been indicated, other novel features of improvementcontributing `to conservation of time, ease 'of operation, Iand uniform 'excellence of the fc'ompleted `ships Will be yperceived yand understood from -the following detailed description Yof the vapplication ofxthe Icanalor pontoon system :to fthe production of a definite -type of Welded ship, taken Qin conection with the` accompanying drawings, 'in which Fig. 'l :shows inside elevation 'a `'type lof 'cargo ship \to-^be lconstructed;

Figs. 2, 2a, and y2b are plan views of -thefconstruction canal, andthe ap'purtenant stations at which successive operations are Ato =be iperfiorm'edy f 1 Figs. 3, 3a, .and 3b "are 'corresponding side relevations of Y the canal, :showing its .profile 'in dotted lines;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged transverse section rof va partially completed ship ata-ken at one of its bulkheads;

Fig. 5 sis an 'enlarged vertical 'section "showing the details of 'the' welding of the longitudinals tothe bottom shell plates and the 'tank top plates;

Fig. 6 is a vpartial transverse section "showing a completed hull inner bottom on a construction pontoon;

Fig. 7 .is a `fragmentary transverse section on the same, vplane 4as andfshowingfthejrela- .tion of shell .bottom plates, `longitudinals, ajnd spacer bars;

Figs. 8 and 9 are detailisometric views show- .ing the interlocked form "ojffhull construction which is used for the 'inner .'bottom "and E'bulk- -heads respectively;

Fig. 1'0 `is an -enlarged, transverse 'section' loff 'a typical ybulkhead construction; .and

Fig. 11 is a further and enlarged' transverse section illustrating the side plate assemblies'and deck construc'tion.`

fReferring -tothe drawings, vthe boat,.-B illusvtrated in Fig. `l ihasanoverall length of -240 -feet Qbetween -perpendiculars `and Aa -beam yof 38 feet, which dimensions will determine the ...principal .onesof-thecanal C.of:l'figs.-2,-2a, 2b and-3,f3a, 3b.

tion numbers.

Where the canal C empties into river R, the` lock L controls the Water levels.

At the opposite inland end the canal has a loop 58 formed by one side to accommodate operations 1-7, and, as a continuation of its straight extended portion, operations 8-13. An assembly island 52 within the loop 50 is formed and disposed totallow free passage between operations 11 and l, for purposes to be explained.

Along the two outer edges of the station areas, and approximately 110 feet from the canal runs a standard gauge track 54, to permit direct receipt of rail-born material at the station where it will be used, and to afford a Way for three locomotive cranes (not shown) on each side of the canal for unloading, landing and assembling the material at the various stations.

In addition to having all materials rail delivered to the station of use, and prefabrication where required, the boats B may be connected together in any suitable manner, as indicated, and progressed in unison at periodic intervals. Since the operations are apportioned to the normal eight-hour workshift, all connected boats from operations 8-35 may be moved economically by a windlass (not shown) at the lock end of the canal'C. Another windlass may be employed at the extreme land end to move the boats or pontoons from operations 1-7. It is not until operation 13 adjacent the extended part of canal C. is reached, however, that the boats under construe* tion can be directly connected and require no uncoupling until completion. The 'economies in time and effort resulting from movement of the work to the segregated material will be very obvious.

Initial operations At the outset of construction, one of the boats would have to be built on a ways, up to its inner bottom and slightly higher side shell plating. This would then be launched into the canal and taken to station at operation 1, to serve as a pontoon, designated PB, on which the first actual 'Individual station operations Operation 1.-Wlth the receiving pontoon, PB, in place, the single operation at the initial station is the landing of the bottom shell plates 58 on the pontoon.

Operation 2.-The deck 80 of pontoon PB, which is in reality its tank top, or inner bottom, has a plurality of small, flat longitudinal bars 82, 1/2 by 1/4 inch, fastened thereto with exact spacing of three feet between their edges to form a uniform jig the length of the pontoon to receive the three feet wide bottom shell plates '58. When these plates 58 are put in place, there will remain a small open trough or groove 84 (Fig. 7) onequarter inch in depth, by reason of the one-half inch thickness of said plates 58.

Operation 3.-At this station, the set of longitudinals 66 (Fig. 4) are landed on the bottom shell plates 58. In this particular embodiment, the longitudinals' 66 takes the form of a inch flanged plate 24 inches in height, with a 3% inch ilan'ge 88 at the top (Fig. 5).

Operation 4.-At this next station, the longitudinals 86 are set in the grooves 84 between shell plates 58 and on top of the flat longitudinal spacerbars 82, so as to leave a small space of approximately Ile inch at each side within said groove.

Operation 5.-The previously landed longitudinals 68 are next welded to the bottom plates 58 along the fore and aft shell plate seams with a sealing bead 18 along each side (Fig. '5). This form of sealing is entirely suillcient to make the bottom shell watertight.

Operation 6.-A plurality of transverse frames 12 identical in size with the longitudinals 66, that is, inch by 24 inches with a 3% inch flange at the top, and spaced about l0 feet between centers, are landed across the longitudinals which have a half cutout 14a to match an identical half cutout 14h in the transverse frames 12, best shown in Fig. 8. This manner of vinteriltting forms a lock and allows the bottom of the transverse frames l2 to come ilush with the bottom shell, at the same time bringing the top of the transverse frames iiush with the inner bottom.

The interlocking welded construction previously described, forms no part of this invention, having been already disclosed in applicants Patent No. 1,806,508.

Operation 7.-As the transverse frames 12 are here tted into place and set, they are tack-welded so as to be ready for nal welding to the bottom shell plates 58 and the longitudinale 68.

Operation 8.-At this station, the transverse frames 12 are completely welded to the bottom shell structure and the longitudinals 68.

Operation 9.-The tank top plates 16 are landed preliminarily on the relatively wide flanges 68 of the longitudinals 58 and transverse frames 12.

Operation 10.-The tank top or inner bottom plates 16 are spread and tted to provide a 1/2 inch longitudinal opening between them, which is necessitated by the original opening of this width left between the bottom shell plates 58 to receive the spacer bars 62 on the deck of the receiving pontoon PB. This longitudinal opening affords space for free automatic welding of the plates 16 to the flanges 88 of the longitudinals 66, and also allows the burning of holes in the transversals or frames 12 to permit of their plugwelding to said plates. In Fig. 5 a typical automatically produced weld 15 between ange 88 and spaced plates 1B, is clearly shown.

Operation 11.--"Thev tank top plates 16 are automatically welded to the longitudinals 66 and plug-welded to the transversals 12, as described above. At the same time, the support of the pontoon PB is being progressively removed by pumping into its inner bottom the relatively tions which may not have been completed during the passage from operation 13. Launching through lock `L follows these operations.

It will, of course, be understood that suitable store houses are provided at operation stations along the assembly line for'all materials which require protection from the elements. In addition to that previously mentioned, other mechanical equipment for handling materials and constructing assemblies most efficiently will be used,v

as exemplified by the steam boilers |08 and acetylene generators H0.

Where sub-assemblies and landing Aoperations are involved, suitable wood platforms H2 are erected, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

As an illustration of the revolutionary nature of the foregoing improvements, in the art of shipbuilding, it is pointed out that the specific application of the principles thereof, as described herein, will result in the launching of a rboat of 450 tons of steel each day on a single shift Working schedule, with the possibility, by employing three shifts, of tripling this production without increase in the canal or any of the Working equipment.

The term loop appearing in the specification is used in its broadest sense to dene an enclosure for a liquid supporting medium of at least double width, or, such as to provide two joined paths, about which the construction pontoons PB can be circulated and pass in opposite directions.

Since it will be apparent that the system and method of this invention can be adapted to a great variety of ship constructions, it is intended that its scope shall not be limited to the illustrative embodiment, except as may be required by the language of the appended claims. Those skilled in this art will readily recognize the separate utility of various sub-combinations included in the present inventive disclosure, and for that reason, certain of the following claims have been directed to such features.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. The method of constructing a welded hull comprising, providing a floating pontoon structure having a plurality of spacer bars secured in predetermined relation to its upper surface; setting a plurality of bottom shell plates, of greater thickness than the height of the spacer bars, between said bars; setting a plurality of framing elements on the tops of the spacer bars and between adjacent shell plates; welding the framing elements to adjacent pairs of shell plates at the upper portions of the latter; sealing the hull; removing the pontoon structure by progressively sinking it when the hull is capable of float-y ing; turning the bottom of the sealed hull uppermost while'it is oating; and then automatically Welding the bottom shell plates and framing elements together in the space provided by removal of the spacer bars.

2. The improvement in the art of shipbuilding on a canal having a widened portion at one end dening a loop with its periphery and connected with an extended portion of only slightly greater width than the ships being constructed comprising; oating a plurality of pontoons along the loop; assembling and constructing a hull bottom on each pontoon starting at one side of the connected end of the loop; submerging each pontoon at the end of the loop on the other side of the canal to float its completed hull bottom; reiloating each pontoon and returning it to the starting position; and advancing a series of floating hull bottoms intermittently and in unison to successive construction stations arranged along opposite sides of the extended portion of said canal.

3. The improvement in the art of shipbuilding on a canal having an extended portion of only slightly greater width than the ships being constructedcomprising; floating a plurality of pontoons along the canal; assembling and constructing a hull bottom on each pontoon starting at one end of the canal; sinking each pontoon to float the completed hull bottom when complete; refloating each pontoon and returning it to the starting position; and serially completing the respective ships while advancing a plurality of floating hull bottoms to successive construction stations arranged along opposite sides of the remaining portion of said canal.

RICHARD F. SMITH. 

